Damascus Station

A Novel

By: David McCloskey

Narrated by: Andrew B. Wehrlen

Length: 12 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

A CIA officer and his recruit arrive in war-ravaged Damascus to hunt for a killer in this pause resister that offers the "most authentic depiction of modern-day tradecraft in print" (Navy SEAL sniper and New York Times best-selling author Jack Carr).

CIA Case Officer Sam Joseph is dispatched to Paris to recruit Syrian Palace official Mariam Haddad. The two fall into a forbidden relationship, which supercharges Haddad's recruitment and creates unspeakable danger when they enter Damascus to find the man responsible for the disappearance of an American spy.

But the cat-and-mouse chase for the killer soon leads to a trail of high-profile assassinations and the discovery of a dark secret at the heart of the Syrian regime, bringing the pair under the all-seeing eyes of Assad's spy catcher, Ali Hassan, and his brother Rustum, the head of the feared Republican Guard. 

Set against the backdrop of a Syria pulsing with fear and rebellion, Damascus Station is a gripping thriller that offers a textured portrayal of espionage, love, loyalty, and betrayal in one of the most difficult CIA assignments on the planet.

©2021 David McCloskey (P)2021 Tantor

The Performance !

An interesting story, but ruined by the performance -- one of the worst that I can remember hearing. The narrator tends to hurry through sentences then comes to an abrupt halt, giving the narration a choppy feel. The narrator has no knowledge of how to pronounce French and was given no direction. That's a problem because a good part of the action takes place in France and there are references to France throughout the book. A string of badly mangled place names is a good way to destroy verisimilitude.

Colorful Characters

Trying to read too much truth or policy into this story might take your mind off of a first rate espionage suspense story. Most certainly, the depictions of our involvement in Syria and its influencing factors are real enough. But it's the characters and twists and turns of the plot that make Damascus Station. The story takes a bit to develop but don't let that deter you. Once ramped up, the story is fast-moving with twists and turns that are not always predictable.

As for the characters, I liked that there were no "superheroes'" but rather believable yet colorful characters. In my opinion, the bad guys were just as rich as the good guys. The central figure, Sam, is a very likable character. Though he has a few flaws as a human being, he's a believable central figure. Miriam, Bradley and the extremely colorful Proctor are but a few of the characters that deserve an audition. On the other side of the ledger of "us against them," Ali is also a character that should endure.

Narration is always a hit or miss on new books but I thought Andrew Wehrlen did a very fine job. He managed voices for a broad base of ages, gender, and accents extremely well. I would like to hear him in another McCloskey book featuring the same core characters.

Bad narration

If you are considering this book, I would recommend buying it on Kindle or a hard cover. The book was ruined by the bed narration.

Good story but one of the worst narrations yet

The story seemed to be a gripping one but the narration completely ruined it. The narrator had the same tone, whether it was a an action scene or just a conversation between friends.

It was hard to tell one scene from the next and i found myself rewinding constantly because I wouldn’t realize the previous scene ended.

The narrator had a hard time pronouncing words to a point it became comical.

I will need to read the hard copy because even after finishing, I have a hard time recalling the full story

Performer’s enunciation distracting

The performer’s enunciation was too, too, too. It interrupted the story’s natural flow and even the rush and tension in the book’s most gut wrenching moments. The story, though, was riveting. I couldn’t put it down.

Fascinating story

Very interesting story . The author is obviously knowledgeably . The performance was poor unfortunately. He kept dropping the end of the words. I had to slow down the speed and frequently hit the 10 second repeat button. to understand his speech..

Torturous

It may deserve good reviews, but it was all I could do to follow it to the end.

Narrator ruins this book

Narrator ruined what has the potential to be a good story. Talks too fast without inflection. Don’t bother

Intelligent, exciting, and entertaining

This is one of the best spy thriller novels this reader has experienced. Intelligent, authentic, and exciting. Characters are well developed. The reader is hooked from the first page, and the story becomes consuming. McCloskey maintains the tension as he lets the characters act and reveal themselves in this well wrought and brilliantly constructed plot. The writing is minimalist and the author is unintrusive. This a gritty and entertaining novel that feels authentic from the details of spy craft illustrated. As a result, this is an author we can rely, and a story that rings true and compelling. Andrew B Wehrlen is well modulated to the wide-ranging characters and the narrative. This is a engaging page turner.

Great read

This was an awesome excellent book. Loved how real it felt. Best spy novel I’ve listened too in a long time. Can’t wait to see what he comes up with next!

just BRILLIANT.

A well written,well paced book. vivid characters and excellent plot line. would like to read more about the main character. would be fantastic for T.V.